Month: February 2017

Many factors determine whether someone will be accepted into a graduate program, but most students who apply to grad school are completely in the dark about how the process of selecting applicants works. As a consequence, most applicants will make a number of missteps that hamper their success, due either to miscalculation or naivety.

A great deal of confusion surrounds the role that grades and GPA play in determining the outcome of an application, and most students overestimate that role. Meanwhile, most students underestimate the importance of how they come across as a person, along with other factors that can sometimes weigh more heavily than grades. Few students realize that their letters of recommendation will be the deal-maker or breaker in most cases, and even fewer know how to make sure their letters are actually helpful rather than a hindrance to their acceptance. How important is the personal statement? How long should it be, and what should be in it? What about standardized test scores (e.g., the GRE)? How high do they have to be?

There are a lot of issues that must be addressed along the way to a successful grad school application. Many questions must be answered, and critical decisions made. And there is no shortage of people who are happy to give advice on how to handle it. Problem is, most people give bad advice on how to prepare for graduate school and how to put together a winning application. This includes the majority of academic advisors, career counsellors, most professors, and many people who were successful themselves at navigating the application process and getting in. It’s true – even the people one would expect to give the most solid information and advice are more likely to give you vague, generic, or inaccurate information and advice. The most well-prepared students sometimes fail to realize why their applications to graduate school were successful, and those that are rejected will never be told why.

The remainder of today’s post consists of a comment left by a reader a few years ago, along with my rather long reply. I think her confusion will seem familiar to some of the students reading this blog, today. Hopefully, my reply will help clear up a few things. This is especially likely if readers take the time to read the other content to which I have provided links.

D.L. asked the following:

“Hi Prof. Mumby,
I find this whole grad school thing very confusing actually…simply because so many people give such different opinions and “scare stories.”

I used to be under the impression that getting into grad school was notoriously difficult and that it was a fight to the death.

I have since chosen to work as a full-time RA first instead of going straight to school. Besides gaining more experience, I also figured I wanted to know if I could stomach doing this for the rest of my life. Since then, I’ve visited the faculty I intend to do my grad studies in and imagine my surprise when I was almost assured I would get in, as opposed to the usual “oh you have to be outstanding and make your application stand out” kind of talk.

True, I have a 4.0 GPA (the grad chair took one look at my transcript and said: “you’ll get in and it would surprise me tremendously if you didn’t. I also suspect you would be quite a popular candidate among the faculty”), but I have always been given the impression there is more to getting admitted than grades. After all, don’t most people who apply have outstanding/stellar grades (or close to) anyway?

Now, I’m just…confused :p

Cheers!”

My reply:

“Thank-you for the comments, DL. The process of applying to and being admitted to grad school is like no other process we are familiar with, and I often hear from students who feel somewhat confused. I’ll try my best to clarify it all for you.

To answer your question, “Don’t most people who apply have outstanding/stellar grades (or close to) anyway?” — No, this does not describe the majority of grad school applicants. Of course, it depends on how one defines a stellar GPA. I indicate in the original post that by ‘stellar’ or ‘outstanding’ I’m referring to grades that are like yours — near or at 4.00. Many students have GPAs that are still very good or excellent, say, between 3.30 and 3.80, and they make up the majority of grad school applicants in most fields. The latter type of GPA is good enough for grad school, but not in the same league as a GPA between 3.90 and 4.00, which is highly likely to get the student some scholarship support (which is good for the graduate program and the student’s grad supervisor, not to mention a nice reward for the student’s own hard work and achievements).

One possible reason for some of the confusion you describe is that you’re getting advice from many people, but some of them don’t know what they are talking about. You will hear a lot of people repeating the same misconceptions, and this can make those mistaken ideas seem valid. I’ve discussedthe common misconceptions,before, and also the issue of getting advice from the right sources. I strongly recommend you read those previous posts.

You wonder whether it is really true that in order to get into a good graduate program “you have to be outstanding and make your application stand out”. Well, it’s not really about making your application stand out — it’s about making yourself stand out as an applicant. I would say that you are a good example of someone who is doing just that! You are doing certain things beyond having a stellar GPA that are probably contributing to a very positive impression, even though you might not realize what a large role those factors are playing.

For example, you worked as an RA before applying to grad school. This is a huge plus in your favor, for reasons I have previously discussed in this blog while writing about the importance of getting relevant experience before applying to graduate school (here is another link to a blog post on the difference between relevant and irrelevant experience). Moreover, you actually visited the program (at least one of them) that interests you the most, and spoke with faculty members there. I have previously discussed why making this kind of visit before applying is essentialto improving one’s chances of getting in. Some faculty members, myself included, will never accept a new graduate student who has not made some kind of pre-application contact, and the in-person visit is the best type of contact. It shows a lot about the student’s good judgment, among other things. You might be surprised to hear this, but most grad-school applicants do not bother making that visit! Most applicants just send in their application materials and hope for the best. They have zero chance with some of those applications, but they don’t even realize it!

Visiting goes a long way to getting accepted, as long as you don’t make a flat or negative impression while you’re there. You might have said or done any number of things while visiting that made you stand out from a typical grad school applicant even more than your super-high GPA. As I have discussed on previous occasions, one’s character and personality, various social skills, and work habits tend to determine success or failure in graduate school. Someone might have already surmised some of these things about you by the time they looked at your transcript. You might be assuming they saw straight As and thought something like, “this person will ace all her graduate courses and therefore she will be a great graduate student.” But, it’s unlikely the actual thought process was anything like that.

So, I’m not at all surprised that you were basically told you would almost certainly be accepted. As I have mentioned before, this happens a lot, and a significant proportion of grad students are implicitly accepted before they even apply. This is what is happening with you.

You seem to be well on your way to being admitted to a graduate program of your choice. But, you will still need to make some important decisions. Are you applying to the best program for you? Will you need to choose a supervisor at the outset of the program, or is it a program in which you are assigned to a supervisor only after some time? In either case, you will need to know how to choose a supervisor. Other than yourself, your grad supervisor will be the most important person in determining what you get out of grad school. Are you prepared for the stark differences between undergraduate school and graduate school? Do not make the mistake of assuming that grad school is all about taking advanced courses that deal with more complicated subject matter than undergraduate courses. It’s not like that at all, in most disciplines (apart from a few sciences, like physics and mathematics).”

A person can get a lot of consistent and authoritative advice on grad school admissions by reading through the archives of this blog, and by visiting the MyGraduateSchool website. Much of this advice is also available in one place — my handbook, Graduate School: Winning Strategies for Getting In. You can purchase it at amazon.com for a small fraction of the cost of a grad-school application, and it’s also available as an e-book or kindle. Graduate-school application fees are always non-refundable, so it’s easy to waste a few dollars on unsuccessful applications. The book will pay for itself many times over.

Posted on February 14, 2017. Canada has always been a good place to pursue a university education. Not only a baccalaureate, but also for graduate studies at the master’s or doctoral level. Now, more than ever, students across the U.S. are thinking about it, talking about it, and there will no doubt be a surge in the number actually doing it over the next few years.

Canada is home to around 100 universities, and while some are primarily undergraduate universities that offer only a few graduate programs, there are several dozen more comprehensive universities that offer a wide range of doctoral and professional degree programs.

If you are an American student who is trying to decide whether going to grad school in Canada is a good idea, there are some key things you need to know. Here are some of them:

1. You will not have to make compromises in the quality of your graduate education by choosing a Canadian university over one in the U.S. There are no significant differences between Canadian and American universities in the range of graduate programs available, and no differences in quality of education and training. This is so important to understand that I will repeat it: There are no significant differences between the U.S. and Canada in terms of the quality of graduate training available. This is true for all STEM disciplines and social sciences.

2. Graduate schools in Canada are also equivalent to American schools in terms of preparing people for gainful employment and successful careers – including opportunities in Canada, back in the U.S., or in countries abroad. This reality arises from the previous point – the quality standards of training at the master’s or doctoral levels are the same in the U.S. and Canada. Program accreditation is governed by different organizations in the two countries, but they apply similar criteria.

3. Graduate schools in Canada and the U.S. evaluate applicants to their programs the same way, using the same criteria, and with similar standards. This means that the keys to applying successfully to the right programs are also the same. Aside from having to arrange for a student visa to study in Canada, the rest of the application process is the same as for universities in the U.S.

5. Tuition fees are generally lower in Canada than in the U.S., but as a foreign student, an American studying in Canada will have probably have to pay international tuition fees. Overall, this may bring the direct costs in U.S. dollar terms into line with what those costs would be for most in-state students at universities of similar size in the U.S. International fee remissions are available to a limited number of foreign applicants to most Canadian universities, but there is a lot of variation across schools and programs in this respect. Talk to prospective supervisors or program directors about this — don’t just rely on what you can find on the university websites.

6. You don’t need to speak French! Not even in primarily French-speaking Quebec. While there are a handful of French-language universities in the province of Quebec, there are also large English-language universities, including McGill and Concordia, and the much smaller Bishops University. Outside of Quebec, the remaining nine Canadian provinces host major universities that are all English.

7. To most Americans, Canada is only a foreign country in the technical sense. A long border separates us geographically, and we have different governments, but living in a Canadian city is just like living in a city in the U.S. – but with significantly less crime, fewer deeply impoverished and homeless people, and overall better treatment of minority groups and vulnerable members of society.

8. You will be feel welcome in Canada, no matter your country of birth or citizenship, your religion, or your political views. If one reason you’re thinking of grad school in Canada is because you would like to get some distance from the new political landscape and brewing turmoil in United States, your reasoning is sound. Canada is safe, Canada is free, and Canada is stable. Canada is also rich in cultural and geographical diversity. These qualities are part of our national identity, and they are ever present on our university campuses.

How to find the right Canadian graduate programs

Let’s suppose you’re serious about moving to Canada for graduate school. Now that you know it wouldn’t require any compromises in the quality of education and training, you can move directly to the serious business of figuring out which schools and programs to apply to. What’s the best approach?

It’s easy to find out what you need to know about any graduate or professional programs, its faculty members and their research interests, the city in which you would live. But there are many Canadian cities with one or more universities to choose from. All the choices can be a bit overwhelming.

The location of the university may be an important factor and one that can be used to help you narrow down your search. You need to be willing to live in a particular city or town for the next several years. It’s easy enough to learn all there is to know about a place through diligent Internet research. As you learn about different places, remove from your list of potential programs any that are in undesirable locations.

Being in a comfortable and supportive environment is essential for success in graduate school. Interpersonal compatibility with your graduate supervisor is also important. Few things are more miserable than working with someone you dislike, so you want to have some idea of whether you will get along with your potential supervisor, and you want to figure this out before you apply to any program. This is one reason you should directly contact potential supervisors at least a few weeks before the application deadline. There are other important reasons to have this pre-application communication with potential supervisors, but those are discussed elsewhere in this blog.

Finding the right program and a compatible graduate supervisor can be a daunting task, but if you do your research, and contact potential supervisors before you apply, you can avoid wasting a lot of time and money on unsuccessful applications, or on successful applications to the wrong places.

Sorry… can I help?

As you may have guessed by now, I am a Canadian. I am familiar with many of our universities, and I have lived in a few different cities and in different regions of the country. I can answer any question about what to expect if you come to Canada for graduate studies.

Plus, regardless of whether you’re applying to schools in Canada or the U.S., I have the insider’s advice that will help you get in. As a psychology professor for the past 23 years, I have supervised numerous graduate students, served on graduate-admissions and scholarship-ranking committees, and advised countless undergraduate students on educational and career planning. Aside from my research expertise in behavioral neuroscience, my main specialization is helping students understand what they need to know — and what they need to do — in order to prepare for graduate school, to put together a winning application to the right programs, and to succeed in grad school once there. I wrote a book on the topic, which has been published in two editions (1997 and 2012), and I have given guest lectures on the topic at several universities across Canada. For individuals, I offer 30 – 60 minute personalized consultation sessions by phone or Skype. Give me a chance to help, and you won’t be disappointed. For more information on this service, visit my Frequently Asked Questions.

When we interact with other people, we form attitudes and opinions about them based on what they say and do. Our attitudes and opinions can be challenged if we later observe a person behaving toward others in a manner that is inconsistent with our initial impressions of their character and comportment. If our first impressions of someone are negative, it can require a lot of positive observations to reverse our negative opinions. First they have to climb out of the hole they are in.

You Are Being Watched

Most students underestimate how much of their behavior is noticed by certain professors they encounter. It is important to realize that certain comments or behaviors that are innocuous to some people may still evoke disdain in others who have different attitudes about those things. For example, some students misjudge how their appearance or outward behavioral tendencies affect the attitudes that certain professors have about them. Students who stand out by dressing garishly or sporting showy make-up or hair-styles may find it harder to earn respect based on any truly relevant strengths they possess than do the conformists. This is not fair or rational, but it reflects an aspect of human nature. When we form an impression of someone from a few sketchy interactions, that person’s most salient traits or characteristics can obscure other traits that are actually more pertinent. The message here is that students who have a style or character that is a bit outrageous should consider toning it down when they are at school.

But, how much does is actually matter what your professors think of you on a personal level? It might matter quite a lot. Students who might someday need letters of recommendation from professors should understand that their behavior today, whether positive or negative, may still be reflected in the attitude that a professor has about them one or two years from now. Naturally, most professors will come to like or dislike some students more than others. Nobody is going to write a good letter of recommendation for someone they dislike, so students should be thinking about how their behavior could affect their chances of having support from professors later on.

Some of the student behaviors that professors dislike are obvious: The worst include talking with classmates or rolling eyes or smirking while the professor is speaking, or frequently arriving late for class or leaving early without any apparent good reason. One of the most frequent displays of disrespect in the classroom these days is to be looking at your smartphone, tablet, or laptop computer while the professor is talking. Students who think they will not be noticed or remembered because there are several other students doing the same thing are wrong about that. Of course, it depends on the professor, too. The important point is that some are very observant, and they are watching you, even if they aren’t doing so purposefully.

Some students fail to realize that they are insulting a professor when they complain about the way an exam, paper, or project was graded. Students perceived as arrogant or pretentious, or as loud, childish, silly or immature, will find it difficult to reverse those perceptions, even if they begin to behave more appropriately.

Be Mindful of How You Come Across

Some students engage in certain behaviors that they think will make a good impression on their professors, but with the opposite result. For instance, some professors encourage students to ask questions and voice their opinions in lectures, but dislike it when a student does too much of this and ends up monopolizing class discussions. Most professors don’t mind if a student occasionally drops by the office to talk about academic matters, but some students do this far too frequently, or even worse, they take up their professors’ time with their personal problems.

Among the behaviors commonly disliked are some that students would not expect professors to even notice or care about. One example is when students put in little effort and, as a result, do poorly on a midterm exam and later expect extra help outside of class to help them prepare for the final exam. Some professors may feel negatively about students who seem to be always anxious about minor things, or always stern-faced and much too serious, or chronically depressed. Everyone appreciates a compliment, but some students frequently compliment their professors in a manner that is perceived as manipulative. Teaching assistants, most of whom are graduate students, also observe undergraduate student behavior and they may pass on their own stories to their professors.

Some professors have more disdain for certain negative behaviors than other professors do, but naturally, all have some limit to what they can tolerate before they begin to dislike a student. Most professors are reasonable and will overlook an irritating behavior if the student otherwise shows very good promise. Most realize that students occasionally encounter personal problems or circumstances that legitimately take precedence over their studies. Even the most dedicated students may understandably become preoccupied for several days following a serious fight with a spouse, or the death of someone close to them, or some other tragic circumstance. Although most professors are sympathetic enough to occasionally grant an extension on an assignment, or to reschedule an exam for a student with personal problems, repeated requests for this kind of special consideration may indicate that the student is unable to cope with adult life and responsibilities. The same student is not likely to be able to cope with the demands of graduate school.

Students sometimes make the mistake of disparaging others when explaining the consequences of their own previous mistakes or shortcomings. Never, ever, blame a bad grade you received on the professor! Over-exuberance can also make a negative impression, although the people who display this tendency may not realize the extent to which it weighs negatively on how they come across to some people. People who behave effusively may be perceived as insincere, or even manipulative. No one will be convinced that you belong in graduate school because you say that you’re “really, really, really passionate” about the field of study. The point is not to avoid being enthusiastic, because enthusiasm and motivation are essential. Most people like others who have a cheerful demeanor. Just be careful not to overdo it, or else others may assume that you are insincere. Students who are too nonchalant or casual may come across as being not sufficiently interested or motivated.

Students who will later need positive letters of recommendation must do more than avoid behaviors that professors dislike. They should also give their professors some reason to have good opinions about them. It is not enough to “blend into the woodwork,” as this will not give the professor anything positive to say in a letter.

So, what are examples of admired student behavior that contribute to professors’ attitudes of students they like? As with disliked behaviors or characteristics, some of the admired ones are obvious: students who seldom or never miss a class, are attentive and ask insightful questions, and who occasionally participate in class discussions. I personally like to see students turn their attention directly to me and immediately close their phones, tablets, or laptops as soon as I begin a lecture. These behaviors give the impression that the student is interested in the course, and that he or she respects me and is mindful of why we are there in the first place.

Among the student behaviors that professors like are some that students would not expect professors to even notice or care about. For instance, professors like to see students help each other. Sharing your notes with a student who missed a class might save the professor from having to spend extra time going over the material with that student. Some professors like it when students smile and say “hello” when they pass by outside of class, and most prefer when a student is willing to make eye contact rather than blatantly trying to avoid it. Some professors respect students who have the courage to disagree with them in class from time-to-time, as long as it is done in a respectful manner.

For the most part, the relations that exist between a student’s behavior and a professor’s attitudes about the student are nothing more than common sense. The most important point to be taken from all of this is that your behavior is on display much of the time, and professors who come into contact with you on a regular basis are likely to use their observations of your behaviors to develop opinions about your character. Those opinions will be reflected in any letter of recommendation they might eventually write for you.

How to Dig a Hole and Jump In

Context matters. Something a professor just happens to notice you do or hears you say in the hallway one day might leave no significant impression. It might not enter the observer’s stream of consciousness for more than a moment, and it might be forgotten just as quickly. But in a different context, the same observation might have much greater impact and lasting consequences.

Many students appreciate that it is essential to get some relevant experience before applying to graduate school. One of the most common ways of accomplishing this is to volunteer to help professors with their research. This is the best way to set up the most relevant and effective letters of recommendation that will be helpful down the road when applying to graduate school, or to a professional degree program, or for a postgraduate scholarship, or for a job. Some students fail to realize that one of the most important benefits that can come from volunteering as a research assistant is that it puts them in situations that allow the supervising professor to see how they work, how they interact with others, their independence, motivation, communication skills, maturity, emotional stability, and the list goes on. These are the kinds of things professors tend to write about in a letter of recommendation. In fact, most graduate programs explicitly request that individuals providing recommendation letters evaluate the applicant on at least some of these dimensions.

Some students make the mistake of seeking out opportunities as volunteer research assistants without knowing all the reasons why it is important to do so, especially if they plan to apply to graduate school, someday. Many students mistakenly believe it’s all about getting the relevant experience, and they don’t consider how the impression they leave on the supervising professor can come back to either help or harm them several months or a couple of years down the road. There are ways to make the most of a volunteer research position, and there are ways to inadvertently make it a huge waste of your time and effort. This general topic is discussed in a previous post, “How to Make the Least of a Volunteer Research Position“. Anyone planning to volunteer as a research assistant with a professor should read that article. It might help avoid disadvantages thar are difficult to overcome.

If you are thinking of grad school and you find this blog useful then you should consider Dr. Mumby’s personalized consulting services

He offers 30 - 60 minutes appointments over phone or Skype. He can answer all your questions, provide actionable advice, and help you make key decisions about how to prepare, how and where to apply, and how to improve the odds that your applications will be successful.

Send an email to protopress@mygraduateschool.com and our blog administrator- Sarah Brown Tesolin – will contact you within 48 hours to schedule an appointment with Dr. Mumby